ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A judge will decide whether a Virginia man gets 25 or 30 years in prison for plotting to detonate a suicide bomb at the U.S Capitol in an undercover sting.
Amine El-Khalifi of Alexandria pleaded guilty in June and will be sentenced Friday in federal court there. He admitted plotting with undercover agents he believed were from al-Qaida and volunteering to run a suicide operation at the Capitol, going so far as to don what he thought was a bomb-laden vest.
The plea deal allows only for a sentence between 25 and 30 years.
Defense lawyers say the sting operation preyed on El-Khalifi's financial woes by giving him nearly $6,000.
Prosecutors say El-Khalifi came to authorities' attention in part by answering a Facebook post seeking to recruit Muslim holy warriors.
